NETWORKING SUPER POWERS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

You may be surprised to know that I am shy. People usually are. They see me speaking at a luncheon or Chamber function. It's much easier to speak to a room of people who are interested  in what I have to say (at lease I think they are) than it is at a cocktail reception or business after hours where I have to make small talk. If I had to network that way for my own small business, I would be terrible.

Yet, networking is vital for your business. And there is tremendous value in this collaboration for our local tourism industry. Our rural community is increasingly seen as a place for entertainment, leisure activities, and an alternative to a busy urban area. Visitor requests for information are more than three times what it was at this time last year. We can thank the beautiful cultural heritage of the Palouse region for this increased interest and can use this identity marker as a means to promote our farm products, cottage industries and other local producers through rural tourism.

Using our heritage for promotion is not only a fashionable trend right now, but also shows a community's social, economic and political determination. We are discovering a new-found interest for our own rural identity, and as tourists come into the area, they buy local products, eat in local restaurants and represent a sizeable source of income.




Visitors are intrigued when a restaurant features locally grown products or a boutique hotel has locally made lotions and soaps in each room. Let's work on promoting the region as a whole! This requires building these business relationships between grower/manufacturer and retail. The Pullman Chamber offers many networking options each month to get out and hobnob with other business owners - meetings, luncheons, and after-hours. What a great way to find that new product for your business, or a new way to incorporate the Palouse into your business identity.

And if your shy? Do what I do and check out the daily posts on the Chamber's facebook page and be armed with a current topic to talk about!

Vicki,
Tourism Director

Visitor Education

There are many things about being the Executive Director of the Pullman Chamber I enjoy.  The community members, business owners, and students that we work with, the visitors that reach out to us for information about Pullman and our region, and the co-workers and volunteers that make going to work so much fun.

The diversity in what we do and the day to day surprises are what keep me excited about going to work.  Every day brings new adventures and new inquiries.  With those questions, usually comes education for all of us here at the Chamber office.  I would venture to say that no visitor leaves here without a great understanding of our community, our region and our university.  If a visitor asks about something that one staff member can't answer, it's easy for one or another of us to jump in to help.  With that collaboration comes learning more about our area from each other.  Hence, the education!

We also learn from our visitors.  We learn that Pullman is, indeed, a safe and welcoming place.  Several times a week we have guests tell us how much we've helped them and how friendly we all are.  Often we have visitors who are here for a few hours while their pet is at the Veterinary Hospital or maybe even a few days to visit the campus or friends and family.  They stop in and are welcomed by a friendly and knowledgeable staff who send them out with maps, brochures, ideas, and of course, smiles.

We've been visited by a bicyclist who started in western Washington and was traveling across the country to Florida.  He camped in Pullman and shared with us his musical talents playing his accordion in our office.   Another visitor shared with us the sad story of the two dogs she was bringing to the Vet hospital.  Both were going through cancer treatments and she was renting a home to stay in for the extended stay.  She appreciated having a friendly and sympathetic ear to talk to. And yet another time we had a mens' quartet stop in to sing us a few songs before heading out to a paying job.  Oh, the variety of visitors~

Each of the staff here at the office has specific jobs that we do to keep the Pullman Chamber of Commerce working like a well-oiled machine, but together we work to make sure our visitors and tourists to Pullman enjoy their stop and want to come back soon.  I think we do a great job!

Marie~ExDir

Social Media Revolution

Back in March, Vicki and I attended the WFEA (Washington Festivals and Events Association) Conference representing the National Lentil Festival and Pullman Chamber of Commerce. We learned a lot about what is happening in the worlds of festivals, events and tourism in Washington State, but one thing that really caught my attention was the emphasis on social media in both the workshops and casual conversation between the conference attendees. Even though I was in college during the "birth of Facebook" and many other social media sites, it was very eye opening to me how much social media is being used in the BUSINESS WORLD! Until then, I had thought of social media as something that was used primarily on a personal level.

I have had a personal Facebook account since it first became available at WSU - as you know in it's beginnings Facebook was only available to college students and only to a limited number of schools. My boyfriend at the time (now my husband of 5 years) was going to school at USC and was able to get a Facebook account a lot sooner than I was and I was so jealous! But I digress... :)

Now, of course, almost anyone or any organization can create a Facebook account. However, as I said, I  had no idea how social media was really being used for marketing purposes until I went to this conference. While I could provide pages and pages of information I picked up on this topic, I think a better way to get the initial idea across is to share this video that was played during several different sessions I attended at the conference.


As business owners and operators, employees, sales people, event planners and individuals, I think this video is a must see! :)

~ Amberly, Event Coordinator